Use your round nosed pliers to curl the veryend of the doubled wire into a complete circle.

Bend the doubled wires into a curve, usinga pen (or similar mandrel).

Separate the wires and thread a beadonto one. Create a spiral at thevery end, curling it towards the bead.

Flatten the spiral onto the end of thebead.

Repeat with the other projecting wire:threading with the second 'cherry' beadand creating a flattened spiral terminal.Spend a little time re-arranging thewires, so that you are totally satisfied withthe overall shape of Earring.

Finally, connect onto ear wires ...and 'voila'!

NOW - for some variations on this themeand I'm sure, you'll be able to come upwith some more ...

(Above) Who needs beads for thisvery simple variation!

However, beads can add that extra decorationand glamour.

I hope you have fun experimentingwith this project ... and if you DON'T feel likemaking earrings, why not create this as a pendantdesign!

Monday, 16 August 2010

"I was given a few pieces of this jewellery by a German friend 20 yearsago. I love this style and it's definitelybeen an influence in some of my jewellerydesigns".

**********************A R T I S T F E A T U R E :

SAMANTHA TAYLOR

**********************

I would like to introduce you all to one of our newest members, a jewellery artist and teacher from Lancashire ...

SAMANTHA TAYLOR

I'm sure you will enjoy readingmy recent interview with Samantha and hearing how she began on her creativejourney ...

WHEN DID YOU START MAKING JEWELLERY?

As a teenager in the 1980's, I loved unusual dangly earrings and discoveringthe bead shop in Covent Garden, ignitedmy passion for beads. I bought some beadsbut didn't know how to start to turn them into earrings. In fact, the first piecesof jewellery I ever made were friendshipbracelets and enamelled pendants in metalworkclasses at school. Then a few years later,whilst living and working in Germany, I attendeda silversmith weekend course. After learningabout the tools I needed, I began experimentingwith wire and finally was able to create my owncustomised earrings!

ARE YOU SELF-TAUGHT OR HAVE YOU ATTENDED COURSESAND CLASSES?

Most of my wirework skills are self-taught fromexperimenting - developing designs and justcreating shapes with wire and seeing what theyturn out like. However, I also enjoy being astudent and going on courses to learn about othertypes of jewellery making. In the past, I've beenon a day course for bead weaving and jade carvingand have spent 5 years at college doing silversmithing.The last few months, I have been going to a kiln fired art group, having 'a go' at ceramic paintingand glass fusing.

Art, design, history ... Ancient civilisations, theirartwork, designs, buildings and beliefs have alwaysfascinated me. Much of my early twenties was spentbackpacking and hiking - visiting archaeological museums and ancient sites, from Scandinavia to SouthAmerica and more recently the prehistoric sites inMalta.

(Above: Visiting Egypt and exploring its templesand tombs has been something I've wanted to do forso long. I timed my visit to the tombs in the'Valley of the Kings' pretty well, in between thehordes of tour groups and had the place mostlyto myself - really great experience!)

WHAT MADE YOU TEACH? TELL US ABOUT 'BEBEADY'AND THE CLASSES THAT YOU RUN?

Teaching was something I had thought about for many yearsand then, following cancer 9 years ago, was unable to workfor long stretches on the computer. I decided to go for it,initially teaching design and Photoshop as a part-time lecturer in Further Education colleges and also at my local adult education centre. The college knew of my jewellery making hobby and asked me, if I was interested in teaching it and now for the past 5 years, I've been teaching jewellery making to a variety of community groups and also one-day courses at a college in Cheshire.

I started BEBEADY jewellery making classes back in 2006 andmainly teach one or two jewellery making day sessions a monthat local arts/crafts venues. I have developed around 15 differentday courses, these range from beginner to intermediate level,each having a particular theme such as Tiaras, Charm style jewellery, Wrapped Loops and beads, Bead Stringing, etc...and I try to add a few new courses every year.

For more information on all the classes I teach, visit mywebsite:

http://www.bebeady.co.uk

DO YOU SELL YOUR JEWELLERY - IF SO, WHERE?

At the moment I sell my jewellery at quite a few craft fairsacross Lancashire, trying out some new ones each year. It'squite difficult finding good events that are reasonably pricedand not full of bought-in gifts or have too many other jewellerystalls, but I do enjoy doing them, meeting people and gettingdirect feedback on my jewellery designs. I also sell some ofmy jewellery in a couple of galleries and exhibitions and I'mcurrently working on an online shop:

http://www.jewelart.co.uk

(Above: Beaded Flower. One of my optional projects in my Tiara classes is to createthis beaded flower design which was developedafter experimenting with loops)

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE DESIGN?

It varies, but mostly I like making allsorts of shapes withdifferent types of wire, usually freeform and incorporatingspirals. However, teaching Jig skills classes again recently,has rekindled my interest in using jigs to make repeat wireshapes. I have lots of different types of jigs, even somehomemade ones that I created using wood and nails at thesilversmith workshop, as I couldn't make the shape I wantedwith the college's basic jig.

(Above: These earrings include a Celtic wire patterncreated using a Jig)

TELL US ABOUT YOUR ASSOCIATION WITH THE ART & CRAFT GUILD OFLANCASHIRE AND HOW YOU WERE SELECTED?

A few years ago, I came across the Lancashire Art & Craft Guild at a craft fair and got chatting to a few of the members.After applying to join, I was selected to go for an interviewby a panel of guild members and was offered membership. Beinga member has helped me raise my profile and has given meexperience of participating in various exhibitions. Recently,I was selected and took part in exhibitions at the Arteria Galleryin Lancaster and the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, whichhas led to running jewellery making workshops for them.

(Above: Tiara - One of my favourite classes is to teachthe Tiaras theme class, covering how to make differenttypes of twisted stems and then use the techniques to create hairgrips and a tiara)

YOU HAVE A VERY INFORMATIVE WEBSITE - DO YOU PERSONALLYUPDATE AND MANAGE THIS?

Yes, before I moved into teaching, I worked as an in-house designer at a football club and part of my job was designingand managing their websites. There weren't any web designclasses around then, so all my skills are self-taught. Manyof my design skills still come in quite handy, from photographingmy jewellery pieces to creating hand-outs and leaflets.

HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT PROMOTING YOUR CLASSES?

Sending out a monthly newsletter, displaying leaflets and generally chatting about my classes when I do craft fairs,as well as advertising my classes at the venues that Iteach at. I am always looking at further ways of promotingthem.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE ANYONE THINKING OF BECOMING ATEACHER AND SETTING UP THEIR OWN JEWELLERY COURSES?

Teaching can be quite daunting at first and if you are goingto teach in colleges, most require some form of teachingqualification, therefore, I would recommend doing ateaching course to get a teaching certificate. However, evenmore important, is to gain teaching experience: your confidencegrows the more practical teaching work you do. The Certificatein Education I did at university was really hard work, a veryintensive 9 months and I sometimes wonder how I managed to getthrough it! The teaching placements were quite a baptism offire ... not much support at all, but good for gaining differenttypes of teaching experience and I was offered some work at colleges afterwards. The main problem with college teachingis all the paperwork, the schemes of work, lesson plans, learning goals, assessments, individual learner portfolios andthat's the 'pleasure classes'!

Another route, would be to start off small, maybe organise somejewellery making sessions with friends and family and then,as your confidence grows, teach other people - such as smallgroups in the community. The most important things you needare: PATIENCE and PASSION!!

(Above: This design is from my new range.It combines different thicknesses of wire, freeform squiggle shape, spiral, button andbeads)

WHAT ARE YOUR ASPIRATIONS AND GOALS FOR THE FUTURE?

I love being creative and hope to continue developingmy own unique designs, honing my skills and expandingmy knowledge. I get a real buzz when I see peoplewearing my jewellery, or even just when my jewellerydesigns are admired (am easily pleased!).

I am also passionate about teaching: I get a lot ofpleasure from helping students develop their skillsand designs. But, eventually, I hope to be able tosplit my time 50/50, as at the moment the majorityof my time gets taken up with the teaching side of things, especially doing the college paperwork.

Goals for the future: are to further develop my onlineshop and set up a blog. To sell my jewellery throughmore galleries and exhibitions and possibly, look intogetting some of my jewellery tutorials published inmagazines.

Keep abreast of what I'm up to, at:

http://www.jewelleryartist.co.uk

Thank you, Samantha, for your very interesting and candidinterview, it's an inspiration to us all!